Ok, so I have a 2003 Evo with 42K miles. ACT performance street clutch and flywheel with 12K on them. No other mods.




So on the way to work today I hit traffic and downshifted down to second and gave it some gas while switching lanes. I heard a horrible whinning noise that made me want to grit my teeth. I pulled over and took the next exit coasting.

I pulled over at the bottom of the exit and put it in first and let out the clutch only to hear the whinning noise again and it didn't go like it should have though it did move forward. I stopped and put the car in reverse. Same thing.

I tow the car to the dealer. We start the car and with the car in neutral push in the clutch. About half depressed (probably somewhere near engagement would be) the noise happens again but it's very subtle. My first thought was the pilot bearing. The service advisor agreed but then when he went to pull the car into the parking spot he heard the noise it made while in gear which is not subtle at all. After he heard that he said he had never heard anything like it.

OK, so they just called as I'm writing this. They said the noise is coming from the pressure plate and it's loose. There is some kind of inspection whole which they accessed and were able to wobble the plate.

Botched install? Thoughts?

ARGH!

 

the pressure plate is only torqued down to 7 ft lbs iirc... its not hard to nto fully torque it down... if you have the ACT HDSS.. i have the same whine... im just used to it..

 

Sounds like it, however, if the pressure plate was so loose that you could wobble it, I doubt the car would even move as there would be no pressure on the disc when released.

 

There is performance loss as well. The whine can't be normal; it's something which can be heard from a distance and would draw attention. The mechanic said that he doesn't think it's safe to drive as it may come loose and shoot through the bell housing.

 

I spoke with the shop who installed my clutch and flywheel also the show who I bought it from. They offered to drive 30-40 miles to come pick up the car and tow it back to their shop.

Just spoke with them, he has inspected the car and doesn't think it's the pressure plate as I would not be able to push in the clutch if it were.

He thinks it's a broken or loose spring. Said if it's not due to a faulty install then he'll do the labor at 50% off and send it to ACT for the warranty.

Luckily, I've never launched the thing so I'm sure it will show normal wear and tear.

We'll see what happens.

 

is it the "act hdss" clutch?

 

Yes, it's the HDSS.

 

Just got an update from the shop.

They took apart the car and found out the the clutch disk itself broke. I should be receiving pictures soon.

They said they've done 70+ installs of this same setup without any coming back. I guess I just have bad luck?

I don't beat my car. I don't launch my car. I don't slip the clutch. The only thing I can think of is that I've been double clutching on almost every downshift. It's almost become second nature to do so. Is that bad?

Thoughts?

 

you might have a clutch failure at your next launch. thats what happened to me

my act start whinning noise at half clutch prdal. the day after failed and gears not engaging

 

Clutch already failed. After the first incident it was barely drive-able. The sound was horrendous.

 

ohh i didnt have much noise , little bit noise half way pressed to the pedal.
so what did it do after failing ? no more engaging cuz i think i didnt read that part .

 

I Have the act clutch as well in my car. its got a nice rattle to it when fully engaged and no throttle. gotten used to it. i think the springs are just not doing their job anymore

 

The clutch didn't completely fail though it was barely drive-able due to the loud noise and power loss. After this occurred I had the car towed to prevent any further damage.

I'll post the pictures of the broken plate when I get them from the shop.

 

I thought it was 13lbs...
Step 25

 

#1 there is no pilot bearing on an Evo trans.

Pressure plate bolts are about 19ft-lbs tq